Nusrat Bhutto was woman of dignity, courage: Daily

Islamabad: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Nusrat Bhutto was a woman of extraordinary dignity and courage and her death brings back thoughts on the "decimation of the Bhutto family", said a Pakistani daily. Her husband Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged in 1979, while her daughter Benazir was assassinated in 2007.

Nusrat Bhutto died in Dubai on Sunday after protracted illness. She was 82.

An editorial in the News International on Monday said: "There will be a funeral again at Garhi Khuda Bux in Larkana. One more Bhutto will join the others at the mausoleum that stands there."

It said Nusrat Bhutto had suffered immense misery through her life and her death "ends decades of suffering and the lasting pain which comes with the death of loved ones".

The editorial recalled that she saw her husband executed while only in his early 50s.

"Her younger son Shahnawaz Bhutto died mysteriously in Paris in 1985 as a result of poisoning, and her elder son Murtaza Bhutto was assassinated in 1996 during his sister Benazir Bhutto`s tenure in power. Nusrat is said to have been kept unaware of her eldest daughter Benazir`s assassination in 2007.”

"...many, many people beyond her immediate family will mourn her death."

It went on to say that "with extraordinary dignity and bravery, she headed the struggle against the military rule of General Ziaul Haq after the overthrow of her husband`s government in 1977 - suffering baton-charge and a period in jail in the process".

"She will be remembered with respect and love as a woman of immense courage. Her active life belonged to an era in which politics in Pakistan knew more principle, honour and dignity."

It said her funeral will be an emotional occasion, "bringing back to the forefront of our thoughts the decimation of the Bhutto family, the manner in which this took place and the role the memories of this continue to play in the politics of our times".